


There's this guy I like...

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: How to woo your local barista [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Barista Raphael, Demisexual Raphael Santiago, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Pre-Relationship, awkward Simon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 03:29:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7741684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I…I didn't think...I didn't want to be a bother," Simon mumbled with a little shrug, unable to draw his gaze away from Raphael's hand still resting on his own, warmth seeping into Simon's slightly cool fingers. His skin felt a little tingly and the touch made his heartbeat pick up some speed but Simon tried not to show how nervous this small point of contact made him - though his cheeks felt suspiciously warm, probably giving him away anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	There's this guy I like...

**Author's Note:**

> Another part of this series and I don't know how many more will follow. It's kind of fun to write such small scenes between them and I hope it's also fun to read. I enjoy writing awkward Simon way too much, sorry (not really).

"What...is this?" Raphael's gaze swept from the small book in his hand to Simon and back, eyebrows drawn together in confusion but there was a mild amusement to the sound of his voice. He looked up from the book he had to read for an essay with a softly hummed "Hm?" and his eyes widened a little.

"Uh, that...that's...a book?" He replied sheepishly, his fingers curling around the mug still halfway filled with a caramel latte macchiato, and tried to look as nonchalant as possible.

Simon had started to hang around the coffee shop more often ever since he started dating Raphael - as long as going two dates could be called _dating_? He wasn't really sure what exactly this was between them but there was no need for a definition as long as it continued to go this smoothly. Raphael didn't seem to mind that he hung out at the shop to work on his university stuff and Simon might be a little more distracted at this place but he was also more focused in a way, even though this made absolutely no sense.

"I can see that but...," Raphael stopped and pointed at the small book that showed a drawn dog and in bold letters, it read the title  _¿Dónde está Spot?_ ( _Where is Spot?_ ), "why do you carry a Spanish pop-up book with you?? You do realise this is for elementary school kids?"

Simon felt his cheeks heat up and he silently cursed not paying attention to what he had grabbed from his bag and put on the table before getting to work. He tried to come up with a non-embarrassing answer but of course, his brain had to fail him now and it would probably be best if he just told the truth anyway.

"Well...uh…you know...there's this guy I like and his mother tongue is Spanish so...I thought I'd try learning it?" Simon didn't know why it came out as a question but the other's disbelieving expression made him drop his gaze to the table, his fingers nervously fiddling with a corner of the tablecloth. He heard Raphael take a breath, probably to tell him how pathetic he was and how ridiculous the idea was to try learning from a children's book instead of one meant to teach the language, but a colleague called out for Raphael to manage the register for a moment. Raphael placed the small book back on the table with an unusual soft sounding "I'll be right back" before leaving to get back to his job.

Simon felt like a complete fool  _once again_  and he honestly couldn't tell why he always ended up embarrassing himself in front of the younger boy. He had planned on learning a little Spanish (he only had the language at school for a year and barely remembered anything useful) to hopefully impress Raphael and show him how serious he was about his affections but now he felt like the greatest idiot on earth and wished for the ground to swallow him on the spot.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed until Raphael's return but he barely moved from his position and only managed to read one or two sentences but without paying attention to their content. He could see someone stepping up to the table from the corner of his eye and looked up to see the younger male sit down at his table, an unreadable expression on his gorgeous features.

"Sorry, I know this must seem completely ridiculous and I really don't know what I was thinking. How about you just forget you ever saw this and we never speak about it again?" Simon blurted out before the other had a chance to form even one word and he quickly tried to snatch the book from the table to let it disappear into his bag. But Raphael was surprisingly fast and his warm hand quickly covered Simon's before he could even lift the book.

"It's not ridiculous. Well, it's a little weird that this is how you go about learning a new language but it's nothing to be embarrassed about. If you really want to learn...why didn't you ask me to teach you?"

"I…I didn't think...I didn't want to be a bother," Simon mumbled with a little shrug, unable to draw his gaze away from Raphael's hand still resting on his own, warmth seeping into Simon's slightly cool fingers. His skin felt a little tingly and the touch made his heartbeat pick up some speed but Simon tried not to show how nervous this small point of contact made him - though his cheeks felt suspiciously warm, probably giving him away anyway.

" _Now_ , you're being ridiculous. I wouldn't mind teaching you Spanish," Raphael admitted with a tiny smile, gently squeezing the other's fingers before drawing his hand back. Simon was tempted to reach out and take the younger's hand again but didn't dare to and just missed the feeling of warm fingers wrapped around his.

"That would be really great but I've got to admit I was pretty bad at Spanish during the year we had it at school, so...I'm probably going to be an awful student to teach." The mere thought of Raphael teaching him Spanish made his heart beat faster and a nervous energy thrum through his body but despite the fact that he was certainly going to embarrass himself even further, he really wanted to try and learn the language. Raphael had the habit of sometimes mumbling Spanish phrases and the foreign words always sounded so smooth rolling off his tongue. Simon was sure he would never reach a stage where he would make it sound like that but he could at least try and show the other that he cared and wanted to know more about his background.

"I'm sure we will figure out a way that makes it easier for you to remember. I have five younger brothers so I'm used to being a patient teacher and explain stuff over and over again." Raphael grinned playfully before getting up from the table again, gently nudging Simon's forehead with the tip of his index finger.

"I shouldn't keep you from your essay any longer and I need to get back to work anyway," he smiled and Simon was pretty sure this smile would one day be the death of him, especially because it seemed to become less reserved over time and Simon couldn't wait to see a proper, wholehearted smile from the gorgeous boy. Simon softly touched his forehead, where the other's fingertips had touched him, and his eyes followed the younger until Raphael caught his gaze a raised eyebrow and a grin tugged at the corner of his lips, causing Simon to blush and force his focus back on his work for university.


End file.
